WCR This Week

From the category archives: WCR This Week

EDMONTON – Longtime Catholic activist Dr. Robert McKeon has received dual honours prior to his imminent retirement as social justice coordinator with the Edmonton Archdiocese. McKeon has been named professor emeritus by Newman Theological College where he has taught full and part-time since 1979.

RED DEER – The executive board of the Alberta Knights of Columbus will spend Canada Day choosing a new leader for the organization following the death of Grant Mann, the Knights' state deputy-elect. Mann, elected state deputy at the April 17-19 convention, died April 29, just two months before his installation as leader of the 18,000 Knights in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

An outdoor Mass on the Hill celebrating the 150th anniversary of Catholic education in St. Albert highlighted the "timeless" faith that has remained constant in the midst of dramatic change. Some 6,000 students from across the Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools division sitting on the historic Mission Hill June 11 listened as Archbishop Richard Smith reflected on the various changes – both dramatic and incidental – in society that have taken place in the past 150 years.<

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Western Catholic Reporter is being recognized for a 50-year tradition of journalistic excellence with an award from the Association of Roman Catholic Communicators of Canada (ARCCC). ARCCC will present the award in its Media Arts Production category to the WCR at the organization's annual meeting in Buffalo, N.Y., June 26.

For the 2013-14 school year, principal Lucy Moore and I sat down to discuss how we could get our students at Fort McMurray's Holy Trinity High School to experience the Mass together. Our intentions were good but logistics kept getting in the way of our plans. Getting to and from the church, busing, sch

Christian pro-life physicians are facing a major battle to protect their conscience rights in the face of the Supreme Court decision to legalize assisted suicide. "We are in a pitched battle in Canada to protect the conscience rights of Christian physicians to uphold their right to practise medicine based on their values and beliefs without interference," said Larry Worthen, executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Society (CMDS).

CALGARY – A battle to protect physicians' conscience rights must be fought to counter the militant secularism shaping today's society, says Cardinal Thomas Collins. "Don't be misled by government who would allow conscience rights only if you are treating a patient of your own belief. That is not right," Collins told Christian physicians meeting here June 13.

With the decision to close one of its largest and most important churches, the Archdiocese of Quebec is sending a clear message: The future of even the most majestic churches cannot be guaranteed anymore. On May 24, one last Mass was celebrated in renowned St. John the Baptist Church. Dedicated to the patron saint of French Canadians, the church stands among the high-profile churches of both the archdiocese and the province of Quebec.

One might wonder how the women of the Gospel, especially those who stood beneath the Cross of Jesus, might live out that devotion on earth today. Those women at the foot of the cross are the inspiration that drew Madame Marie Madeleine d'Houët, a mother and wife, to establish the Sisters Faithful Companions of Jesus, founded on Holy Thursday 1820 in France.

The Catholic Women's League must embrace bold and creative rethinking, national president Barb Dowding told members at this year's provincial CWL convention. Dowding explained the 2015-17 theme One Heart, One Voice, One Mission in her speech to the members of the Alberta Mackenzie Provincial Council who attended the two-day convention which kicked off in Yellowknife June 5.